Ferns

Christmas Fern– Polystichum acrostichoides

Zone: 3-9

Light requirements: Part shade to full shade

Soil preference: Rich,dry to medium well drained soil.

Pest and Disease: No serious pest or disease problems

Attributes:  Evergreen lance-shaped, leathery fronds. Grows in a fountain shaped clump approximately 2’ tall. Fiddleheads emerge silvery in spring. Spore bearing bodies are present only on the last ⅓ of the fronds.

Our Experience: Creates a beautiful all season mass in the woodland garden. Holds form well throughout the season, as well as consistent rich green color. We leave the foliage up year round, trimming back only spent foliage in the spring when the new greens emerge.

Cinnamon Fern– Osmundastrum cinnamomeum

Zone: 3-9

Light requirements: Part shade to full shade

Soil preference: Prefers moist rich humusy, acidic soils, will adapt to lesser conditions

Pest and Disease: No serious insect or disease threat

Attributes: Spore bearing bodies appear first in spring and quickly turn brown. The fiddleheads emerge after this phase and unfurl into pinnately compound, light green, erect sterile fronds 2-3’ in height. They remain green throughout the summer and turn yellow in fall.

Our Experience: Consistent presence in our shade garden. Has adapted to dryer conditions and seems to do well. Our ferns do not quite reach 2-3’. Typically our cinnamon fern will reach 1-2’.

Japanese Painted Fern– Athyrium niponicum var. pictum

Zone: 5-8

Light requirements: Part shade to full shade

Soil preference: medium moisture, organically rich, humusy, well drained soil

Pest and Disease: No serious insect or disease problems

Attributes:  Deciduous fern grows in a triangular shape with graceful arching fronds, notable silvery grey foliage with a contrasting burgundy midrib. Leaves are finely divided, soft and feathery in appearance. Rhizomatous, will fill very slowly spread and fill an area. Generally grows 18” in height with leaves that reach up to 20” in length.

Our Experience: Highly ornamental fern. We have it growing in a few different gardens around the property. We have had some success transplanting mature specimens, takes time for them to establish and appear full and upright. We have had no issues with rodents or insects with this plant.

Lady Fern– Athyrium filix-femina

Zone: 4-8

Light requirements: Full to part shade

Soil preference: medium moisture well drained fertile soil

Pest and Disease: No serious insect or disease issues.

Attributes: Lady fern is light green in color and grow in a dense circular clump 2-3’ in height.

Lacy, erect 2-3 pinnate, finely divided, lanceolate leaves. Each frond is then divided into many pairs of elliptical non-opposite leaflets with pointed tips. Each leaflet is then divided into sub-leaflets which are deeply-cut oblong to lanceolate. Each of the sub-leaflets carries spore producing bodies on the underside.

Our Experience: Very delicate fern. Adds a different character and texture to the woodland garden than the other larger more substantial varieties we grow. We don’t have a huge bed of lady fern, but we have not had any issues cultivating or maintaining this fern. Leaves can become tattered looking in appearance as the season progresses. We often cut down when it begins to look tired.

Maidenhair Fern– Adiantum pedatum

Zone: 3-8

Light requirements: Part shade to full shade

Soil preference: Neutral to alkaline soils, benefits form consistent moisture. If planted in full shade, prefers humusy acidic soils.

Pest and Disease: No serious insect or disease issues

Attributes: Features curved wiry stems and finely textured frilly fronds. Stalks are divided into finger like projections. Fiddleheads emerge pink in spring. Spreads via creeping rhizomes will slowly naturalize areas where the conditions are favorable.

Our Experience: highly ornamental addition to our woodland garden. The foliage brings a very delicate and soft texture to the understory. We have had no issues with excessive spreading, disease or pests.

Ostrich Fern– Matteuccia struthiopteris

Zone:3-7

Light requirements: Part shade to full shade

Soil preference: Prefers medium wet soils. Will perform best in rich constantly moist soils.

Pest and Disease: No serious insect or disease issues

Attributes: Upright, arching, clump forming fern. In the wild can reach up to 6’ tall in ideal conditions, will generally reach 2-3’ in cultivated environments. The foliage, as the name implies, looks like ostrich feathers. The medium green, finely dissected foliage creates a huge vase shaped crown. The larger more showy leaves are sterile, the spore bearing fronds are small, upright and dark brown. These fertile bodies arise mid summer and last through the winter. Ostrich ferns are rhizomatic and form dense colonies in favorable environments.

Our Experience: Large stately plant in our woodland garden. We have had difficulty transplanting, but naturalizes where happy

Royal Fern– Osmunda regalis

Zone: 3-9

Light requirements: Part shade to full shade

Soil preference: Prefers moist to wet, acidic, rich, humusy soils, will adapt to less ideal conditions

Pest and Disease: No serious insect or disease threat

Attributes:  Grows in clumps with  2-3’ sprays of foliage. Broad fronds with large well separated pinnae (leaflets).  Fronds will yellow as the heat of summer dissipates into fall. Leaflets do not support the spore producing bodies, rather they are located on tassel-like clusters at the tips of the fronds.

Our Experience: Very beautiful regal upright fern. Delicate but not feathery. We have only a few of these growing in focal places in the woodland garden. They are light green in color. Our conditions are probably too dry for this fern to really thrive and propagate, but despite a dryer habitat it performs well.